Chapter 42: Two Kinds of Instinct
After resting for several days on Earth, Tachibana Kyūjō brought Vegeta and Son Goku along as they followed Beerus and Whis back to the Planet of the God of Destruction.
Although Vegeta looked somewhat reluctant, in the end he still accepted the invitation from his "same-kind rival," Tachibana Kyūjō, for the sake of becoming stronger—strong enough to surpass that Saiyan man.
Why did Vegeta seem so unwilling?
Naturally, it was because Tachibana Kyūjō apparently had a past relationship that was… rather complicated with his wife, Bulma.
With that kind of situation, how could Vegeta possibly feel at ease?
Meanwhile, Kyūjō's reason for inviting the two of them to the Planet of the God of Destruction was not without careful thought.
He did not want his own presence to end up destroying the golden opportunity Son Goku and Vegeta were originally meant to obtain on Earth.
In the original story, the two of them managed to receive guidance from Whis precisely because they presented Earth's unbelievably delicious food.
However, in this world, because Kyūjō had already "won over" Beerus and Whis with his cooking beforehand, Earth was no longer a point of attraction for them.
Now, even though Goku and Vegeta had been brought to the Planet of the God of Destruction, the original flow surrounding the "Tournament of Power" clearly would not unfold the same way as before.
After all, the initial idea for that tournament was born from a dispute between the God of Destruction Champa of Universe 6 and Beerus of Universe 7, as the two argued over the existence of a delicious planet called "Earth" and the Super Dragon Balls.
That friendly inter-universal tournament later came to the attention of Lord Zeno, who ended up liking the concept of such battles.
Zeno then decided to expand the scale of the tournament into a massive clash of eight universes, with a total of eighty fighters—where the losing universes would be… erased entirely.
The reason only eight universes participated instead of all twelve was because Lord Zeno wanted to directly eliminate the universes he deemed "unworthy"—those with an average mortal development level below 7.
This was the terrifying side of Zeno.
Even though he looked like an innocent, cute child, he was a divine being who viewed entire universes as nothing more than grains of dust.
In his eyes, even billions of living beings within a single universe held no meaning whatsoever.
This attitude of Zeno's, in Kyūjō's view, was extremely similar to something he once read in ancient texts back when he was still on the Blue Planet: the principles of the Supreme Gods from the Primordial Era.
" Heaven and earth are not benevolent; all living beings are but straw dogs. Before the gods, all humans are no more than tiny ants."
Now, even his own life and death rested on the whim of such a being.
That was why Kyūjō never wanted to meet Lord Zeno face-to-face.
He was not Son Goku, who could easily befriend anyone.
Who knew whether Zeno would like him? Or simply erase him on a whim because he felt displeased?
On top of that, Zeno's power in the anime defied all logic.
Kyūjō feared that Zeno's absolute power might expose the secret of his existence as a "Dimensional Wanderer."
At present, the only thing Kyūjō wanted to do was train in peace—developing and unifying two kinds of Ultra Instinct, namely Autonomous Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, until one day he could create a third, more perfect form, and become the supreme being of this universe.
If possible, he hoped that Universe 6 and Universe 7 would not need to hold any tournament at all, so as not to attract Lord Zeno's attention.
He only wanted to quietly grow stronger…
However, as always, even the most beautiful plans could never defeat a shifting fate.
The moment they arrived at the Planet of the God of Destruction, Beerus immediately dragged Kyūjō out beyond the planet's orbit, straight into the empty void of space—initiating a duel between a God of Destruction and a Candidate God of Destruction!
Whis also brought Son Goku and Vegeta along to watch the battle from a distance.
Although Kyūjō's current power far surpassed both Beerus and Whis, he still held back and did not use his full strength within Universe 7.
Naturally… Beerus was thinking the same thing.
For both of them, the Twelve Universes as they existed now were no longer suitable as a true battlefield.
This bout was more of a test—of their understanding of "Ultra Ego," the doctrine of true power belonging to the Gods of Destruction.
Beerus's gaze sharpened as his body became enveloped in dark purple flames, the signature manifestation of his destructive power.
As the strongest God of Destruction among the twelve universes, Beerus finally showed his full seriousness.
Yet Kyūjō, standing before him, merely smiled faintly.
He calmly spread both arms.
In the next instant, a dark purple aura similar to Beerus's erupted from Kyūjō's body—however, unlike Beerus's, Kyūjō's aura was adorned with gentle white hues swirling across its surface.
That was the divine power of True Ultra Instinct.
Although it had not yet fully fused with Ultra Ego, that power alone already signified that Kyūjō stood at the threshold of unifying the powers of two divine realms.
Seeing this, even Whis gasped.
"To have mastered both Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego to such a degree… His rate of growth is truly astonishing! Father, are you seeing this? This world has given birth to someone as strong as you…"
Before Whis could finish expressing his amazement, the battle had already begun.
However, the scene unfolding between Kyūjō and Beerus was nothing like what Vegeta and Son Goku had expected.
No matter what move Beerus attempted—be it a punch, a kick, or a surge of destructive energy—it was always cut off halfway, effortlessly stopped by Kyūjō.
More than that, every time Beerus's destructive energy came into contact with Kyūjō's aura, Beerus's own aura actually dimmed.
In a short span of time, the difference in their power levels became painfully clear.
The destructive aura that had once blazed brightly around Beerus now looked increasingly weak, steadily fading away.
— — —
"So this is the power born from combining Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego… Incredible…!"
Beerus could only stand there, stunned, realizing that none of his attacks had ever reached their target.
With his eyes wide open, he asked in disbelief:
"Is this… the true form of your power, Kyūjō?"
Kyūjō, however, only shook his head slowly, his expression serious.
"Lord Beerus, what you just saw… wasn't even half of it."
"I haven't unleashed my true power yet, and these two types of power haven't fully merged. What you saw just now… was merely the tip of the iceberg."
Hearing that, Beerus immediately stopped releasing his destructive power and flew toward Whis without saying a word.
When he reached the Angel, he glared at him and shouted:
"Whis! You have to teach me Ultra Instinct right now!!"
Whis could only give a wry smile. "Yaaah… that might be a bit difficult, Lord Beerus…"
— — —
Although this battle dealt a slight blow to Beerus's pride, as a god, he still possessed the spirit of a true warrior.
If a single kind of Instinct was not enough to defeat the combined power of two kinds of Instinct…
Then he would simply master both!
From that day on, Beerus changed.
He was no longer the lazy god who only ate and slept.
Like Goku and Vegeta, he began training seriously every single day under Whis's guidance, with one clear goal:
To become stronger than Tachibana Kyūjō.
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